[srlpenny]

I have been homeschooling for a whopping week now, only really doing it formally for a couple of days. I had 2 children in PS that are home now in addition to the 3 little ones.
I can't say things are going bad at all, I'm just not digging it so far. There's no magical bonding with my children or love of learning, anything like that. I really just miss having a break during the day, and we don't have any sort of schedule worked out yet, and I am really a schedule person.
I'm just curious if everyone else loves it right away or if it can grow on you.
Shaunda

 

[MamaMonica]

We have homeschooled most of the years...but for people who pulled their kids out, there's often a deschooling period for everyone. Be patient and give yourself time to figure it out. Even if some families loved it from day one, that isn't everyone's exerience... it depends on so many variables.

It takes time to build in support and breaks for yourself, create a schedule (or non-schedule) that works.

Don't put too much pressure on yourself and give yourself time to find your way

 

[Momma Aimee]

not a BTDT mom -- but ANY big change, for good or bad, takes ajustment.

and few changes are all good or all bad

I would allow yourself a "moom time like with a baby or a new marraige -- there is going to be ajustment time. You need to get in a rythem, or a schdule, you need to work the bugs out and get the emotionals out.

Good luck

Aimee

 

[Lillian J]

I would really encourage you to try a decompression/deschooling period for all of you - it can really make for a much cozier time than jumping into the idea of "homeschooling" all at once. I think it's pretty unusual for people not to need such a time - especially the child who's been in school. Don't expect to see them thinking in terms of love of learning for some time to come - that often gets pruned out in school - but do allow them lots of time to veg and daydream and play, or even mope or be couch potatoes for a while. It's all part of a growing process, and it's a great investment of time rather than the waste of time it might at first seem to be.

If you want a schedule, you might think in terms of the daily basic framework of meal times, meal prep times, a nice daily window or two of time in which you read wonderful books they love to them, a regular time for crafts, a library morning, a science experiment afternoon, little relaxed as possible walks, maybe a regular picnic time if only in the back yard, etc. - just very general slots of time for which you can pencil in weekly ideas and supplies to arrange. But keep it very simple and undemanding during a decompression/deschoooling, period, and you'll be rewarded with a good payoff as you see them gradually get back to their more natural selves and have real reasons to bond more with you again. - Lillian

 

[LovemyBoo]

I loved it right away because it beat the alternative, a lot.

That said, it took the better part of the year for me to love homeschooling in and of itself, not because it was better than ds being in school.

You need deschooling time, all of you. It really is a process. I started a light schedule (math and reading) after about a month. I started adding things as I felt able. Within a year we had a full-fledged schedule that resembles what we do now.

You are just at the beginning of your journey. You don't wake up one morning knowing exactly what kind of homeschoolers you and your children are, just as you don't birth your baby and immediately know what kind of child s/he is and what kind of parent you are. You absolutely grow into it.

Give yourself a break and allow yourself some time. You are all making a huge adjustment.

 

[sweetstephanie]

I have heard moms time and time again say that they had a hard time getting into homeschooling, especially if they pull the kids out during the middle of the school year. When I pulled my kids out we took a month off before jumping into homeschooling. We have been doing it for about a year and a half now and there are still days when I don't "love" it but it really was the BEST decision we ever made.

 

[Ruthla]

I think I vascillated between loving it and being scared out of my mind that I was ruining my child and/or over-extended myself.

In my case, however, I went from having 3 in school to having 2 in school and one at home, so I still had that "quiet time without most of the kids during the day" plus I got plenty of 1:1 time with DD2. It was yet another transition when DD1 joined the homeschooling mix. Plus we still have the "schoolday routine" because DS is in school.

All of you need to "deschool" some. The "love of learning" takes some time to develop; it doesn't happen the first week. Plus you need time to establish a new routine that works best for all of you. The fact that you don't "love it" yet is nothing to worry about.

 

[AcrewJenn]

We homeschooled for a year and then tried public school this year and it didn't work out. I'm pulling my boys and we are going to deschool for awhile. Probably for the whole summer. I'm just thrilled to have them back home

Good luck!! I love homeschooling.